Folding machine



a if P. R. GLASS FOLDING MACHINE Feb. 28, 1933 Original Filed Sept. 281928 Cit Patented Feb; 28, 1933 UNITED STATES PERLEY R. GLASS, or SALEM,MASSACHUSETTS, ass enoa ro UNITED snon MACHINERY oonronarron, orPATERSON. new messy, A coaroanrron or. NEW

JERSEY Original application filed September 28, 1928, Serial No.309,020. Divided and, this application filed February 9, 1932.

This invention relatesto folding machines and is herein illustrated asembodied in a machine for folding the margins of the covers of cases inwhich books are bound, the'present application being a division ofapplication Serial No. 309,020, filed September 28, 1928.

In the manufacture of such cases it iscustomary to cement two boards toa cover of flexible material, such as leather 'or cloth, with themargins of the cover projecting beyond the edges of the boards, and thento fold these projecting margins over upon the adjacent margins of theboards to form the case. The corners of the cases may be round or 7square, andthe manner in which the parts of a caseare cutandfoldeddifl'ers according to whether round corners or square cornersare desired. Such cases, when finished, have four straight edges. andfour round corners;'and two types of machines for folding such caseshave been proposed. In one type the four straight edges and the fourround corners are folded at a single operation. In the other type thestraight edges are presented one at a time to a straight edge foldingmechanism andthe round corners are presented similarly to a round cornerfolding mechanism, the present invention being illustrated as embodiedin a machine of the latter type.

The straight edge folding mechanism. of machines of this type commonlycomprises a work support and an edge guide so arranged that when thework is placed upon the support the margin of the cover is bent uprightabout the edge of the adjacent board. After the work has been so placed,a reciprocating folder moves over the support to fold the margin of thecoverover upon the margin of the board, and then the work support israised to press the fold against the'under side of the folder. I

According to one feature of the. present invention there is provided apivoted folder adapted to be swung about its pivotal axis by an actuatorto which it is connected by link mechanism. In the illustratedmach-inothe folder is a normally upright flatbar, and the actuator iseareciprocatingplate which swings the folder into a horizontal positionand moves over the folder so as to form a firm FOLDING MACHINE 1Seria1:No.5 91,871. I

work support is raised to press the fold 'against' the under side of thefolder. Such a construction, While adapted for all sizesof work, isparticularly advantageous when backing. uppq for the foldtrwhenthe largebook cases having long tops, bottoms ant 'sidesare being operated u onThe swinging folder bar folds the margin of the cover evenly over theboard, the actuator combinations of parts will'be described as em- Ibodied in an illustrativeinachineand pointed out the appended claims. j

Referring now to the accompanying draw- T ig. 1 is a perspective of aportion of amachine in which the present invention isem- 4 Fig. 2 is aperspective showing the mount-' ing of the straight-edge folder; and

Figs. 3 and 4 are details principally section showing the swing-i er intwo positions.

Before describing what is new, a brief. description of what is oldwillbe given. The

g straight-edge fold machine, a's'has been explained, is" designedv tofold the margins of covers of cases for books over the edges ofthe'boards thereof and. comprises straight edge folding mechanism androundcorner folding mechanism.

The work, which is the unfolded case of a. book, commonly comprises tWoboards, each of which. has two rounded corners. The cover is of flexiblesheet material such as leather, imitation leather or cloth. I The boardsmaybe of a thick and stiff material such as cardboard or of a thin andcomparatively flexible materialsuch as paper. The work, as it comes tothe machine, consists of the boards beyond the edges of which the marginof the cover projects; and two alterative methods of folding such apiece ,of workare commonly employed. Eitherthe four straight edges. arefolded first up to aoints .ad'acent to the round corners and the roundcorners are folded first and then the straight edges. Either method maybe,

manner that the edge guide and the normally: upright folder bend up themargin of the cover substantially atri ht angles to thesur face of thesupport; and, when power is applied to the machine, the folder'folds'theupstanding marginover upon the. board or I boards up to points adjacenttotwo of-the rounded .corners of the boards; The folder 25 oftheTillust-rated machine isnew"; and

inasmuch as the purpose of the presentintroduc'tory description isprincipally to point outwhat is old, it will be suflicient at this timeto explain with respect tothis folder 5 that it is a pivoted plate whichswings'from the position shown in Fig. 3 to that shown in Fig. 4 to foldthe upstanding margin" of the cover 200 over upon the board 100. \Vhenthis has been done, the support 21 is raised to press the fold againstthe under face of the :folder. The table or support 21 is mounted upon avertically reciprocable cross head, not

shown, which is raised at the propertime to press the fold( .The partsof the machine normally occupythe positions shown in Figs. 1' and 3 withthe folder 25 upright and the support 21 in lowered'position- The workis placed-upon the support, as shown in 3', and then power is applied tothe machine ,o whereupon the folder swings over into the i '4 7 positionshown in Fig. 4, the support rises to press the fold,-aind thenthe'parts return to the positions shown in Fig. the presentatlon of'asecond piece of work. a

0 ready. for

The round corner folding mechanism will be very briefly described,reference being made to: application Serial No. 309,020 referred toabove, in which it is disclosedin detail-and claimed. Thismechanismscomprises a generally triangular work support 37havingarounded nose. The corner of the book case isplacedupon thissupport'with themargin of the cover extending overan edge guide 4l whichfits'about two sides and the rounded end of the triangular work sup port37. There is then brought down upon the work'a forming plate 43 and aforming block 51. The work support and the work upon it are thuspresseddowna short dis tance whereby the margin of the cover is bent up into'the horizontal path of movemerit of a ,folder47 which has a. generallyV-shaped forward edge provided with a iourvedj recess where wouldotherwise be the l sharp apex ofthe V. The forming plate 43 and theforming block 51'are moved forward other being idle at the time.

a about the forming block and, during the second part of its movement,folds this margin overthe forming plate 43, the forming block beingpushed ahead by the folder.- .The forming plate 43 is withdrawn frombeneath the folded over margin of the cover, and the work support 37 ispushedup to press-the rem against the under face of the folder.

The parts a of the round-corner folding mechanism then return to theirnormal posltlons 'ofrest ready to permit the unfolded "corner of anotherbook case to-be presented tosaid mechanism. The folder 47 is, fast to'afolder. carrier (not shown) to which is also fast afplate 125 whichreciprocates "with the.

"folder.

No further description of theround corner folding mechanism or of themechanism forv operating the round corner folding mechanism and the worksupport 21 will be'given, reference being made to the parent application'or to U. S. Letters Patent No.-1,776,390, grantedscptember 23, 1930,upon an appli-. cation filed in the names of Pe'rley R. Glass andJamesE. McIntire. With regard tothe. patent it may be noted that in themachine there vshown the plate, which bears thenumeral 65 iniFig. 2 ofthe patent andcorresponds to the plate 125 of the present application,is itself the reciprocating folder ofthe straight-edge foldingmechanism, whereas, in the present machine, as will appear below, theplate 125 serves to actuate the swinging plate.

folding mechanism .of the present machine.

,Itw'ill be understood-that in the present machine, as inthe machine ofthe parent appli- {cation and the machine of the patent, the two foldingmechanisms, the round corner and the straight edge, are ope-rated'simultaneously 1 fence 'foreach cycle of the machine, but that work isbeing folded in any given cycle by onlyone of the two foldingmechanisms, the

Turning now to thenew features, the swinginn; plate 25, which isthefolder, is provided with two portions 228, 230'which project from theface ofthe plate and are the effective portions of' the folder. It willbe understood that the particular foldershown is adapted to and bottomedges being considerably longer thanthe side edges. In'the operation ofthe machine, the straight edges along the sides of the case arepresented to the shorter eifectitveportionf 2280f the folder and thestraight edges along the top and bottom of the case:

held stationary in "bores formed in-station- 'ary lugs 130, 131 by setscrews, one of said screws being shown at 133 in Fig. 2. These lugs arerigidly connected by a bar 139, the forward edge of which forms the edgeguide 23 for the work. The swinging folder has fast-to its ends arms135, 137, the hubs of which are provided with bores to receiverespectively the pins 128, 129. InFig. 2, the arm 135 with one end ofthe folder 25 and the stationary lug with part of the bar 139 are shownin spaced relation. In order to assemble theparts, the set screw 133 isloosened and the pin 128 pulled to'the left, as shown; then the hub ofthe arm is placed. at the right of the lug 130, the pin 128 is pushed tothe right so as to extend into the bore in the hub of the arm 135, andthe set screw 133 tightened once more.

In order to actuate the folder 25, the arms 135, 137, to which it isfast, are swung about the common axis of the pivots 128, 129; and thisswinging movement is imparted to the arms by the reciprocation of theactuator plate 125 which hasbeendescribed above. Fast to oppositemargins of the plate 125 are brack ets 141, 143 to which links 145, 11-7are pivoted respectively at 1&9, 151. The forward ends of these links145, 147 are pivoted respectively at 153, to' the rear endof'purvedlinks 157, 159, the forward end of the curved link 157 being pivoted at.161 to the outer end of the'arm 135, and the forward end of the curvedlink 159 being pivoted at 163to the outer end of the arm 137. lVith thisconstruction it will be clear that,when the plate 125 is moved forward(toward the left as viewed in Figs. 3 and a) from the position shown inF 3 to the position shown in Fig. 4, the folder 25 will be swung fromits'normal vertical position into the horizontal position shown in Fig.4 and in this movement will fold the upstanding margin of the straightedge of the cover 200 (Fig. 3) down upon the board 100 (Fig. 4:).

Inasmuch as the difierent pieces of work which are of substantially thesame thickness may vary somewhat in that dimension, it is desirable toprovide means for permitting the folder actuating mechanism to yieldwhen occasion arises. To this end the levers 14:5. 1&7 are mounted foryielding movement. Referring to Figs. 3 and 4, the right-hand end of thelever 145 is received between a stop screw 165 and a spring-pressedplunger 167 both of which are mounted in extensions which are part ofthe bracket 1611. Referring to Fig. 1, the right-hand end of the leverM7 is received between a stop screw 169 and a spring-pressed plungerlike the springpressed plunger 167. The two levers 1 15,

147, mounted in this manner, are thusfca pag ble of being swungslightly-in a' 'cl ockwise di rection (Figs. 3and'4) about their pivotsin opposition to the action of tlie-sbring'pressed 4 plungers, if aarticularlylthick piece of work being'operated upon.

It should be particularly notedthat, when the plate 125 has been movedinto the position shown'in Fig. 4:, the forward portion of the platerests upon theupper surface of the swinging-folder. 25 and serves asa'firm backmg for the folder against the upward thrust of the table 21,when that tableis moved .up ,to press the folder. lt should'also benoted that the axis about which the folder 25 swings, (Fig-I 3)coincides substantially Witn the upper corner of the'edgegage23.

work shall be; evenly folded and the'fold-uniforinlylpressedirrespective of slight diflen. encesin thickness which may bepresent inr In order to ensure that the marginal the the worlnthe work support211mm recess a to receive a plate 17 (Fig! 1) of spring metal,theoperative' portion of said plate comprising a plurality of tongues asshown;

and beneath this plate is a rubber pad 175.

Assumingthatf a folder 25, having'p'oh tions and 230 of the properlengths for i "the book cases which are to be folded,"-has beenmounted'in the machine, the operation of the machine isas follows uponthe work supportin'proper relation" to the portion-228 of the folder,and themathe marginof the cover of the casealong this straight edge uptopoints spaced somewhat from the two corners at that side of the case.

This operation is then repeated on the other side edge, Next the twoended'ges are folded one after the-other, making'use of the por 'tion230 of the folder. The sides of the cover.

of the book casehavenow been-folded: ex-

cept "for small portions-onboth sides of the four corners of the case,and theicorners of four separate operations, making use round cornerfolchng'mechamsm;

Althoughthe invention has been set'forth of the one of the side edges ofthe case isp-l-aced as embodied in a particular machine, it

should be understood that the invention is not limited in the scope ofits application to the particular machine which has been shown anddescribed.

' Having thus described my in'vei'itiomwhat I claim as new and desireto'secure by-Leb ters Patent of the United States is:

1. A machine ofthe class described hav- 7';

ing, in combination a work support, a pivot? ed folder plate, anactuator for the folder 7 7 plate, mechanism including a link ffonconnecting the actuatorwitlithe folder plate,

and means for operating the actuator.

chine is caused to operate, thereby folding i i the actuator with thefolder plate, and means 2A machine of; the class described-having, incombination, a work supportya pivoted, folder plate, an actuator forthe'folder plate, yielding mechanism including a link jfo'rconnectingthe actuator with the folder plate, and means for operatingthe actuator. 1 1 3. A machine of the class described-having,

' in -combination, a work support, a pivoted folder plate, anactuatorforthe folder plate,

mechanism including a link for connecting for reciprocating theactuator.

, the f l ler, connections between the actuator oted f lder 1111' 4:. Amachine of the class described ha"- ing, incon1bination,-.aworksupport,a pivhe form of an elongated plate,

11 the folder, an actuator for arms rigid vW1 andthe: arms, and meansfor operating the actuator. o

ing, in combinatioma work support, a piv- I ing, in-combination, a worksupport, an edgeguide tofacilitate bendlng the margin of'the' otedfolder lnthe form of an elongated plate,

arms--rigid w ththe folder,an actuatorfor the fo1der,-connect onsbetween theactuator and the arms, and means for reciprocatingtheactuat'or, a 7 -T 6, A' machine of the class 'descrlbedhavworkupward, a pivoted, folder, an actuator for the folder, mechanismconnecting the actuator .with the. folder whereby movement of theactuator swings the folder about its'pivot, means for -ator to cause thefolder to bend the upstanding margin of the work over upon the body'portion of the work to moving the actuform the fold and to cause aportion of the actuatortobe positioned above ing the work support topress the foldagainst rocating the actuator. I b V 10. A machine of theclass described haverate upon coverof a'case for a book and another upon5. A machine of the class described hav- I the folder, and means forraisplate, an actuator for the folder plate, yieldlng mechanism forconnecting the actuator with the folder vplate, and means for reciping,in combination, a work support. aswinging folderv provided with aplurality, of spaced effective portions, one adapted to 013- the top andbottom margin of the the side margins, and means for swinging the folderover upon the work. a 11. A: machine of the cl'ssdescribed hav- 11 1g,in combination,

er provided Wltll! spaced effective portions 2 in the path of movementof a selected one of which a selected portion of the cover of a bookcase may bepresented, and means for actu atmg said folder to fold themargin along oneedge 'oftliecase from a point adjacent to one corner ofthe caseto a point ad accnt to another corner, leaving the cornerportions unfolded. t

12. ih'HlZLClIl-IIG of the occlass described having,lin combination, awork support, a pivotedfolder provided with spaced effective portions inthe path .ofmovement of a selected one of which selected portion of thecover ofea book case may be presented, and

means for-swinging said folder to fold the margin along one edge of thecase from a point adlaee'nt .tojonecorner of the case to a'pomtadjacent-to another corner, leaving the corner portions unfolded. 7 t

. In testimonylwhereof Ihave signed my name to this specification. V v 7f i' PERLEY R. "GLASS.

.theunder'facefof, the folderwhil'e the folder I gislbacked'up, asdescribed', by the actuator, V V

A machine of the class described hav- .ing, in, combination,

, the folder about its pivot, and means for mov- V ing the actuator uponthe work and to causethe actuator to contact :with that faceof thefolder oppo- Work. I i

, s. M cha ism for folding the want of to swing the folder over 7 sitethe one wh chis in contact with the I I the cover-of a book caseover'the straight V '7 edges of the boards thereof having, incombination, a worksupport,a pivoted folder" an actuator for the folderplate, mech- 7 plate, anlsm includ ng itllnk for connecting the actuatorwith the folder plate, and means :forreciprocating the actuator} r 9Mechan sm for folding the :margins I the cover of a bookcase over thestraight edges of the boards thereof having, in com- 7 e niav rkSup otari etedf ef a a work support, a fold: I Y

